Today’s movie is an action/adventure film with a scene that happens on May 17. Watch it tonight and enjoy.
KING SOLOMON’S MINES
White hunter Alan Quartermain has become disillusioned with his job. When John Goode asks him to help his sister Elizabeth, look for her lost husband Henry Curtis he initially refuses, until she offers Quartermain enough money to provide for his young son in England should he be killed. Henry Curtis was looking for the legendary lost mines of King Solomon and they have a copy of his map. The safari begins, even though Quartermain is still very skeptical about taking a woman along. They reach a native village where they learn Curtis passed through. They encounter the usual African dangers, including surviving a stampede caused by a wildfire. The group encounters a tall African named Umbopa who asks to accompany them on their expedition. All their bearers run away except for Khiva. They arrive at a village where they find a white man who calls himself Smith. He is really Van Brun, who is wanted for murder and fled to the jungle to avoid arrest. He remembers Curtis and his bearer passing through, but just the bearer returned, only to die a few hours later. The tribe are cannibals and they have to take Van Brun hostage to escape. Van Brun tries to escape, killing Khiva and is killed by Quartermain. The quartet reach the desert shown on Curtis’s map. They almost die of thirst, but on May 17, 1897 they reach the waterhole shown on the map. [1:17:26 to 1:18:23] This enables them to press on into the mountains on the other side of the desert. Here they find a fertile valley and evidence that Curtis reached this far. They also learn that Umbopa is a prince of the Tutsi tribe that lives there and he is returning to claim his throne from his cousin Twala who usurped the throne. The three whites have a tense meeting with Twala. Twala supporter Gagool speaks of Curtis and leads them to a diamond rich cave where they find Curtis’s skeleton. Gagool triggers a booby trap, sealing the three Europeans inside. They escape to find Umbopa and Twala about to fight to the death for the throne. Umbopa wins and gives them enough bearers and supplies to return to civilization.
This is a passable adventure film, based on a classic novel of the genre. The film seems a little dated today with its misogynistic tinge and racist undertones. If you can put this to one side and just enjoy, it is a good film. The cinematography is fantastic, as it was one of the first films set in Africa to actually be filmed there, and not in a studio.
In the book King Solomon’s
Mines by H. Rider Haggard (Magnum Books, New York, 1968) at page 83 they reach a waterhole and spend the rest of the day beside it and when they leave it “that night we covered nearly…” (May 17/18) [page 84], they rest the next day and “at the approach of evening…” set off again (May 18/19), [page 84] the next day they find melons and “That night …” (May19/20), set out again [page 86] they continue climbing and “that night we ate our last morsel… “(May20/21). [page 87] immediately after this the date 21st May is given on page 87. In the movie at 2:47 the year is given as 1897.
Producer - Sam Zimbalist
Directors - Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton
Screenwriter - Helen Deutsch
Awards – The film won the Best Color Cinematography and Best Film Editing Oscars. It was also nominated for Best Picture at the 23rd Academy Awards.
Released – November 24, 1950
Runtime – 1 hour 43 minutes
Starring –
Deborah Kerr as Elizabeth Curtis
Stewart Granger as Allan Quatermain
Richard Carlson as John Goode
Hugo Haas as Van Brun a.k.a. Smith
Lowell Gilmore as Eric Masters, District Commissioner
Kimursi as Khiva
Siriaque as Umbopa
Sekaryongo as Chief Gagool
Baziga as King Twala
Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015.
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